What We Do Works

For You, Here and Now

It's why people who already considered themselves environmentalists say "This is what I've been looking for my entire life."

It's not more lecture, telling people what to do, hitting people over the head with science, etc.

It's the opposite of convincing, cajoling, coercing, seeking compliance, or manipulation.

For All of Us, to Reach Enduring Global Sustainability

This introductory video gives an overview of how to understand and solve all (yes, all) our environmental problems in ways that create joy, reward, and gratitude.

The book, Workshop, and free Short Course in Sustainability Leadership describe more. Our vision, mission, and strategies lead to enduring global sustainability, not just grasping at small actions wishing they'll add up or hoping for the best.

We don't promise they'll be easy or fast, but that the work will be the most rewarding of your life. You'll wish you started earlier, as will the people you lead, who will thank you.

After the Video

1

Read Sustainability Simplified

See how our culture became stuck, how to get unstuck, our possible brighter future, and how to make it happen.

Buy the Book:

Bookshop.org | ebooks.com | Amplify | Amazon | Barnes&Noble

Or first take the Short Course in Sustainability Leadership for free, where you can download the free How-To Workbook too.

2

Take the Workshop

Start your mindset shift

and continual improvement

3

Join the Community

So you're swimming downstream, not up,

And we bring the world with us, creating joy and gratitude.

What People Say About Sustainability Simplified

Joshua Spodek has written a stunningly elegant and powerful guide on how to be a human. In the process, we may wind up saving the planet—and ourselves.

The core message concerns who we want to be in the world. His reasoning is impeccable, his arguments are brilliant, and his writing is a deep pleasure to experience and to learn from. I kept reading sections out loud to my wife simply because I was so excited to be reading such words on a page.

—Sebastian Junger, author of War, Tribe, The Perfect Storm, and In My Time of Dying

Joshua, you are a unique practitioner of the kind of sustainability the world needs today.

You inspire me. It is my hope that with leadership such as yours, we will also see clearer skies over earth in the near future.

—Ela Bhatt, Founder, Self-Employed Women's Association of India (SEWA), member of The Elders, and honoree of the Right Livelihood Award (the "Alternative Nobel Prize")

This book is a masterpiece.

Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum—from bluer than Bernie to a proud Trump supporter like me—I’m sure you are concerned about the world we live in.

Josh doesn’t claim to be on either side of the political spectrum. He’s living by his values. Sustainability Simplified shows how to improve the environment without having to protest or shout down others.

—Rob Harper, America Out Loud podcast host, author, and political commentator

This extremely powerful book will resonate with anyone anywhere on the political spectrum, who dares to look at the world, and their life, through fresh lenses. It will unite us.

Sustainability Simplified is about changing mental models. Yes, it’s about sustainability—and quite literally saving the planet—but the only way to succeed is to systematically shift our mental models and break constraints. Josh Spodek has lived it and shows us how to.

—Alan Iny, Partner and Director, Global Lead for Creativity, Boston Consulting Group

Buy the Book:

Bookshop.org | ebooks.com | Amplify | Amazon | Barnes&Noble

Or first take the Short Course in Sustainability Leadership for free, where you can download the free How-To Workbook too.

What Participants Say About the Workshop

        This is what I've been looking for my entire life.

I've thought about these problems for years and years. [The Spodek Method] is what I needed to finally do something!

People think that sustainability means more expensive. But I'm saving so much money! And I still have more free time. It's mind blowing.

These conversations have felt like a breath of fresh air in terms of connecting with people over something we both love and appreciate. Rather than the stress and anxiety that comes with the need to help and curb climate change.
Woohoo!

In the Workshop

Our community and courses teach through Hands On Practical Experience. You will learn to live by your deepest values and lead others do the same. You'll:

• Connect with like-minded individuals committed to living joyfully sustainably.
• Learn from established leaders in sustainability to enhance your knowledge and skills, and apply them to your own life.
• Receive ongoing support and resources to reach your potential as a leader of yourself and others in your personal and professional life, beyond sustainability.

You'll get access to

• Sustainability Simplified 101: This workshop teaches you the social and emotional skills to lead yourself and others to live joyfully sustainably, so they'll thank you. You'll learn to inspire using intrinsic motivation instead of convincing, cajoling, and coercing using extrinsic. You'll experience how effective, rewarding, and fun this way is. Whether you choose a guided cohort or self-directed, you will have access to a community, including leaders who will support you at every step.
• Alumni Community and Events: After completing Sustainability Simplified 101, you will gain access to our growing alumni community, including rotating weekly events for friendship, learning, connection, and fun. We're working every day, listening to the community, and implementing ideas for how to make living sustainably feel like swimming downstream rather than up.
• More Leadership Courses: We offer Workshop alumni highly-rated, world-class advanced courses in leadership, entrepreneurship, and more. Continue growing your skills and reach your potential as a leader and human.

Don't Take Our Word for It

Listen to Lorna Davis's honest, no-holds-barred conversations with founder Josh Spodek about her concerns and fears before taking the Workshop, then her transformative experiences during and after.

Not your typical environmentalist, Lorna served as President of multinational consumer goods companies for 20+ years, including Danone, Kraft, and Mondelez. She was President of Kraft China and of Nabisco North America among others. She also led Danone as a Global Ambassador for the B Corp movement. She served as CEO and Chairwoman of Danone North America, where she established that $6 Billion entity as a Public Benefit Corporation. It achieved B Corp status in 2018, making it the world's largest B Corp.

Before the Workshop:

After the Workshop:

Leaders on the Workshop's core leadership technique, The Spodek Method

Sandra Pérez, Executive Director, NYC Pride:

Sandra leads the team organizing New York City's annual Pride March. She is a native New Yorker grounded in the Bronx and Puerto Rico.

“One of the things that our conversations have made me feel better about is that—especially institutions or even individuals—we tend to say 'It's not gonna make a difference if I do it' or 'I'm not doing it right.' We will not—I can guarantee you—we're not going to do everything right this year.

We started. That's a big part of the process ... It's not limited to how we leave Washington Square Park or just cleaning up after ourselves. It's about how we want to show our pride in our work with the environment and sustainability.”

She added:

“The hardest part of taking a step like this is that you're always worried about the blow back. Because people will say, 'You didn't do this and you didn't do that.' So part of the process here has been, 'We won't do this all correctly the first time out and we're going to get feedback that may not be so positive. But that's okay because we're engaging in a dialogue.' For me it's about incremental change and doing that consistently.”

Stephen M. R. Covey, Bestselling Author:

Stephen wrote The SPEED of Trust and Trust & Inspire: How Truly Great Leaders Unleash the Greatness in Others. He is the son of the author of the blockbuster The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

After experiencing the Spodek Method, he said the experience recalled a quote from Little Prince author, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”

He added:

“[The Spodek Method] was emotional experience. It was great. It felt aligned and appropriate to what I was doing ... That was inspiring to me. I love this whole approach and I've been thinking about the [Saint-Exupéry] quote. That's an inspiring pull approach rather than a push strategy. That's the kind of leadership that's really effective.

You're inspiring people, not just motivating them.”

Tony Hansen, Director (former), McKinsey:

Tony said of his Spodek Method experience:

“You opened some doors. The idea was there but I'd come up with excuses for why I couldn't engage now. If [I'm] honest I'll be a whole lot more effective right now ... than I might be in fifteen years time. It makes a huge amount of sense to do right now so I thank you ... because I don't know if I would have acted on it. Now that I've committed to it, I will.

Very few have done what you've done.”

He continued:

“[Those] not doing it: 1) don't recognize what it takes, 2) don't recognize the benefits of it, and 3) can't credibly convince others.

There's no better way than trying it yourself. You can then speak with authority and awareness, as opposed to just saying oh we should do this but not really intending to.

Sometimes [we] require some form of awakening that ... gives intrinsic motivation to do something, something different ... through that action of doing something differently, you can build momentum.

The Spodek Method is one of those tools to enable that awakening.”

Oliver Burkeman, Bestselling Author:

Oliver wrote Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals and Meditation for Mortals.

“The idea that [The Spodek Method] is an act of kindness toward yourself is fascinating to me... It's not a question of having to choose between self-gratification and being good to the planet.”

“It's not that people have to exactly copy you. It's that people would discover something very rich, full, and meaningful in life by approaching limitation in the same way.”

“You're right to talk about how quickly these rewards come from voluntarily stepping into this.”

Jacqueline Bicanic, University student leader:

Jacquie took the workshop after being a guest on the podcast as a university student in Perth, Australia pursuing a Masters of Environment and Climate Emergency. Beyond the classroom, she is active in sustainability efforts, including starting and leading several university sustainability initiatives.

On her experience of the Spodek Method:

“It was really relaxing ... I became conscious of how stressed I was and how much stress I was carrying around. I found relaxing enjoyable. I found I was speaking with my partner more. It's not like we weren't speaking. it's just that usually he'd be playing his computer games or I'd be reading a book. To spend time together we'd probably watch TV.”

She added:

“It's not hard even if you think it's going to be ... It's a lot more rewarding than you think and it's going to affect more than just that one thing that you think it will. I thought it meant that I might go walking more and all of a sudden ... I'm looking at the foods that I'm eating and the packaging ... looking at rubbish in my surrounding area.

Like dropping a pebble in a very still pond ... all the sudden all these ripple effects happen and it just ripples further and further out more than what you think it would.”

1

Read Sustainability Simplified

Buy the Book

Bookshop.org | ebooks.com | Amplify | Amazon | Barnes&Noble

Or first take the Short Course in Sustainability Leadership for free, where you can download the free How-To Workbook too.

2

Take the Workshop

Start your mindset shift

and continual improvement

3

Join the Community

So you're swimming downstream, not up,

And we bring the world with us, creating joy and gratitude.

What students have said about Josh Spodek's courses:

This is one of the greatest classes I have ever taken. It was engaging, thought-provoking, challenging, and fun. Josh is an incredible teacher, mentor, and friend to everyone in the class who is passionate about the subject matter.

Since I have begun this course, I have applied the lessons I have learned to my daily interactions and I am benefiting everyday. It is the wave of the future, that I am thrilled to be a part of.

I learned a lot about simple, effective ways of caring for the environment and especially appreciated the perspective that caring for the environment doesn't have to be a chore, it can be fun and inspiring.

The course doesn't prescribe what to do, it helps you look at your own internal motivation and values to decide for yourself.

I am discovering that changing my own behavior is joyful and empowering. Deprivation and sacrifice are the OPPOSITE of how I feel about the daily journey toward habits that care for our beautiful planetary home.